| PROFILES |
TAMI BOBO SIMPLIFICATION
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aving loved, ridden and worked with horses for 46 of her 48 years, and having dealt with Arabians, Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds, you’d think Tami Bobo would have picked up all the equine knowledge she’ll ever need. Wrong. Asked if she is still learning, Tami said, “One hundred percent, if you just watch them. I learn every day from horses. I love to learn, so I enjoy it. Most recently, I’ve been learning about this industry. It’s fascinating. Not being born into it, I wasn’t exposed to people approaching you wanting to buy your horses.” The most inquiries have been about one horse, Simplification, who will take Tami and Simplification’s trainer, Antonio Sano, to the Kentucky Derby off a solid dirt record of three victories, one second and two thirds in six starts. “My hat’s off to Antonio, managing a staff, trying to execute a plan,” Tami said. “Most recently, my learning is how to manage a Kentucky Derby contender.” She may not have been born into horse racing, but she didn’t miss by much. “I have pictures of me on a horse when I was less than two-years-old,” she said. “My family moved to Ocala when I was eight years old. I showed horses all over the country.” Working at one point as a single mother, she had to hustle to make a living with horses. “Quarter Horses were keeping me whole,” she said. “I was teaching riding lessons
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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 64
ABOVE: Simplification, jockey Javier Castellano and Tami Bobo celebrate winning the Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream Park, 2022.
and pinhooking Quarter Horses. I did very well pinhooking, but the profit with Quarter Horses is small. It kept food on the table.” Asked how she has dealt with different breeds, she said, “I think at the end of the day, it’s horsemanship. You are either a horseman or you’re not. If you know horses and pay attention, they will tell you what they need. Then you address any issues. There’s an idea that horses aren’t intelligent. It’s a misconception. Horses are extremely intelligent. They have to have intelligence and the mindset to race.” In 2010, Bobo switched from Quarter Horses to Thoroughbreds and is still enjoying the wisdom of that decision. And the first Thoroughbred she bought was Take Charge Indy, a phenomenally bred colt by A.P. Indy out of multiple graded-stakes winner Take Charge Lady, whose victories included the Gr. 1 Ashland and Spinster Stakes.